On November 7, 1775, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, who had been royal governor of the colony of Virginia since 1771, drafted a document that became known as Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation. Published on November 14, the proclamation named the Patriot rebels of Virginia as traitors to the Crown, declared martial law in Virginia, and—the part that elicited the greatest response and had the widest impact—declared as free any slaves or indentured servants who would join Dunmore’s forces against the rebels. Many slaves ran away from their masters to join the British because of their offer of freedom, and the Virginians did whatever they could to prevent it.